Gophers scouting report: Mount St. Mary's

Tonight, the Gophers face Mount St. Mary’s in the fourth game of the regular season.

To get a better idea of what to look for from the Mountaineers, I chatted with Bob Blubaugh from the Carroll County Times in Westminster, Md., about the team he covers.

Some Notes:

Mount St. Mary’s is in trouble after losing its two best players – Lamar Trice and Kristijan Krajina – to indefinite suspensions for “violation of team rules” hours before the season opener. The Mountaineers were short on depth anyway. Senior Pierre Brown left just before the season started for personal reasons, Ja’Colby Wells has been out with an ankle injury and they have two transfers sitting out their redshirt seasons.

Players to watch: Danny Thompson: The 6-7 post qualifies as the Best Player Still Standing. He’s averaging 9.7 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. Julian Norfleet: The sophomore shooting guard has stepped up in need, contributing 11.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.

Strengths: The Mountaineers look to have improved on rebounding from last season, when it was a definite weakness. Still, with the Mount averaging 35 a game, they should lose that battle to the Gophers.

Weaknesses: Depth. Free-throw shooting. Turnovers, particularly with freshman guard Chad Holley starting in place of Trice. Holley was supposed to play little and be cautiously ushered into his college career. Instead, he’s been forced into a starting role and is struggling.

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Marcus Fuller joined the Star Tribune in 2016 after 11 years covering Gophers sports – and just about every other team and league in town -- for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Before making the Twin Cities his home, Marcus spent two years in The Kansas City Star sports department. Marcus grew up in Hawaii and is a 2002 graduate of San Jose State. Follow Fuller on Twitter @Marcus_R_Fuller.